Retro Idols of the 1970s and 1980s

There's no official documentation of who is the first Japanese idol ever, but Okazaki Yuki (born: July 31, 1953) was definitely one of the earliest generation of idol. She made her singing debut in 1970, two years after her acting debut. 

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Minami Saori, also known as her Christian name: Cynthia,  (born: July 2, 1954) was one of the biggest idol in early 1970s who debuted in 1971. Her songs might never reached #1 in Oricon chart, with #2 is her highest record, but to judge her success only based on that will be very misleading since her total song sales was still significantly higher than some other idols who have one or more Oricon #1 ranked song. She was big!

Minami Saori is a long-time close friend of Asaoka Megumi, since their idol days until decades later in modern days.

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Asada Miyoko (born: February 15, 1956), nickname: Miyo-chan, was one of the top idol in 1970s who was best known with her cute looks and soothing voice. She made her debut in 1973. She was more specialized as an actress, even then she still appeared in a lot of singing program and has 1 song that reached #1 in Oricon chart. 

Miyoko is a long-time close friend with Asaoka Megumi since their idol days until decades later in modern days.

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Agnes Chan (born: August 20, 1955) was an idol from Hong Kong. Her Chinese name is: Chen Mei Ling, and Agnes is her Christian name. She came to Japan in 1972 invited by a Japanese songwriter, made her debut that year and became one of the biggest idol in early 1970s. Agnes Chan has 1 song that reached #1 in Oricon chart.

Beside a singer, Agnes Chan is also known for her humanitarian works which she has done since a very young of age, even before she became a singer. In 1998, Agnes was appointed as the first ambassador of Japan Comitee for UNICEF and has done a lot of charity works since then.  In 2016 she became "UNICEF Regional Ambassador for East Asia and the Pacific Region". As UNICEF ambassador, she has visited many war-torn countries and famine stricken countries, doing humanitarian works helping people all around the world.

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Ota Hiromi (born: January 20, 1955) was one of the top idols from 1970s. She was also a songwriter and composer. Even since she was 8, the time she learnt piano for the first time, she has already composed her first music. Ota Hiromi made her singing debut in 1974. Her music style is a fusion between idol songs and folk songs, it turned into her own unique characteristic. She was one of the best looking idols in her era, her voice was amazing, and she has the popularity; thus made her a complete idol.

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Iwasaki Hiromi (born: November 12, 1958), nickname: Hiroring,  was one of the most popular idol in 1970s. She made her debut in 1975. One thing Hiromi has that excel most other idols is consistency. Since her debut day in mid 1970s until now, for almost 50 years non stop, she still regularly release new singles. She has a very long career. Iwasaki Hiromi has collected 3 songs that reached #1 in Oricon chart. Among 1970s idols, she has the 3rd highest song sales.

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Candies might be the first idol group in idol history, which members consisted of Miki (Fujimura Miki, born: January 15, 1956), Ran (Ito Ran, born: January 13, 1955), and Sue ( Tanaka Yoshiko, born: April 8, 1956). They made their debut in 1973 but only became really popular started from 1975. Candies have 1 song that reached #1 in Oricon chart.

In late 1977, Candies - still in the peak of their popularity - suddenly announced they would disband soon. The period between the announcement and their final concert was when their popularity rose even further to the next level. Their song sales and concert attendance exploded. So did the ratings of TV shows where they performed. They officially disbanded in 1978 and never perform together again. Sue died of illness in 2011.

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Oba Kumiko (born: January 6, 1960), nickname: Kumin, was a popular idol in late 1970s. She appeared on TV for the first time in 1974, made her movie debut in 1976 and debuted as singer in 1977. Her popularity boosted when she starred as lead role in the TV series: "Comet-san" in 1978. She was more of an actress than singer, having starred in about 130 dramas and 11 movies (mostly support roles / guest roles, mostly from 1970s to 1990s, but still act as recent as 2020). As singer, she has released 13 singles and 9 albums. She also does voice acting, stage show and variety show, and writes books.

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Sakakibara Ikue (born: May 8, 1959) was a top idol in late 1970s. In 1976, she won the first ever HoriPro Talent Scout Caravan (* a very popular audition program held from 1976 - 2020 by a famous agency company: HoriPro. A lot of idols came from this audition. One of HoriPro biggest idols was Hori Chiemi) and made her debut as idol singer in January 1, 1977 (some idols debuted in the same year as her included Oba Kumiko and Takada Mizue). 

As a singer, Sakakibara Ikue has released a total of 39 singles and 17 original albums. There's no information about her total sales but incomplete data showing her ten highest selling singles have sold a total of 1,196,000 copies. Sakakibara Ikue has performed 6 times consecutively in Kohaku Uta Gassen 1978 - 1983. She has won 13 awards from 1976 - 1981. 

As an actress, she has starred in 59 dramas (1977 - 2021) and 6 movies (1976 - 2022). She has also been regular cast in a lot of variety shows and tv programs from 1977 until now. In late 1970s, she appeared regularly in Japanese Disney programs, she even voiced Mickey Mouse in Japanese dub back then. She was also for playing the role of Peter Pan in Japanese version of "Peter Pan" musical stage play in 1981 - 1987. And she was the presenter of "The Top Ten" from 1981 - 1986.

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Ishino Mako (born: January 31, 1961) was a popular idol from late 1970s well known for her catchprase: "million dollar smile".  She made her debut in 1978. As an idol, she has won a lot of awards and performed 2 times in Kohaku Uta Gassen. Ishino Mako was also a presenter for the legendary idol talent show: "Star Tanjou!" (a legendary talent show from which many top idols were born. The likes of: Sakurada Junko, Yamaguchi Momoe, Pink Lady, Nakamori Akina, Kyon2, and even Mako herself used to be contestant of this show before they debut as singers).

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Nakamori Akina (born: July 13, 1965) was one of two overwhelmingly popular idols in 1980s, one of the two "queens", the only person who could rivaled Matsuda Seiko back then, and surpassed everybody else from their generation with their ridiculously high stats. She made her debut in 1982 and started from her 3rd singles, her songs started to dominated #1 spot in Oricon chart. In total she has 22 singles that reached #1st rank in Oricon Chart.

In every different era - whether it's athlete or celebrity - sometimes there'll be a great rivalry between two generational greats who have surpassed everyone else and only competing for the top between themselves. Such thing also existed in idol world. Matsuda Seiko was overwhelmingly popular in the '80s, she was basically the "queen" of idol that no other idols could matched her......until the emergence of the other "queen", her arch-rival: Nakamori Akina. 

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Kashiwabara Yoshie (born: October 1, 1965) was a top idol from early 1980s, one of the first generation '80s idol who debuted at the same year as Matsuda Seiko and Kawai Naoko. The highest position her song ever reached in Oricon chart was #6, but her total sales is higher than some other idols who have more than one Oricon #1 ranked songs. She has also performed twice in Kohaku Uta Gassen. Her fans are not just average people, but even the crowned prince of Japan back then (the person who later became current emperor of Japan in Reiwa period. The current emperor was born in 1960, so he was still in his early 20s during Yoshie idol days) was a fans of her and had attended one of her concert.

Among idols, her close friend was Kawai Naoko

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Yakushimaru Hiroko (born: June 9, 1964) was a top idol from early 1980s. She is also a very popular actress. She made her acting debut in 1978 and her singing debut in 1981. 

As an actress,  she has starred in a total of 44 movies and 51 dramas. In her prime, she won a lot "Best Actress" awards. In the age where she need to play as someone's mom, she still won a lot of "Best Supporting Actress" awards. She has won about 48 award in total.

As a singer, Yakushimaru Hiroko was a very popular idol in early 1980s with hit songs. She has a total of 3 songs that reached #1 in Oricon chart. Being popular in both fields, a lot of her songs were also used as OST in her own movies.

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Matsumoto Iyo (born: June 21, 1965) , is one of the top idol from the 1980's, who made her debut in 1981. She won newcomer awards in her first year and since then she has a successful career as idol for almost a decade. She was also a presenter who hosted a popular music tv program back then, and acted in some teenage dramas. Iyo was one of the tv hosts on Onyanko Club variety show: "Yuuyake Nyan Nyan".

Matsumoto Iyo seems to be close friend with Hayami Yuu, they often appear together in many tv programs especially in modern days.

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Hori Chiemi (born: February 15, 1967) was a top idol active in early to mid 1980s. She made her debut in 1982.  She has won at least 15 awards from various events and festivals. The highest position her song ever reached in Oricon Chart is #2. She was also an actress (starred in 17 dramas), radio host, and regular cast in some variety programs. Chiemi is also an author who has written 9 books, from fiction, autobiography, and books about family and parenting. 

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Harada Tomoyo ( born: Novermber 28, 1967) was a top idol in 1980s. She made her debut in acting and singing in 1982 when she was just less than 15 years old, and immediately won awards as actress. Tomoyo became a very popular actress who starred in a lot of movies and dramas, many of them used her own songs as the OST. 

As an actress, Harada Tomoyo has starred in a total of 31 movies and 28 dramas (still a very active actress with her latest drama and movie were from 2021). She won 12 awards as an actress in 1980s. 

Tomoyo also has a successful singing career with a lot of singles and albums. She has 1 song that reached #1 in Oricon chart and has performed 1 time in Kohaku Uta Gassen. 

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Oginome Yoko (born: December 10, 1968) , nicknamed: Oginome-chan, was a top idol in 1980s well-known for her eurobeat style songs that made her unique than mainstream idol singers back then. She made her debut in 1984. In her career, she has a total of 3 songs that reached #1 in Oricon chart. She has won 39 awards from various events, the most notably ones are winning gold in "Japan Record Awards" for 4 consecutive years. She looked like normal cute idol when she talked normally, but once she sings and dances, she became someone different, someone so cool. 

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Honda Minako (born: July 31, 1967) was a top idol from the 1980s. She made her debut in 1985 (*a tough year, because that was the same debut year as Nakayama Miho, MInamino Yoko, Saito Yuki, Asaka Yui, and a lot more idols; even Onyanko Club). The highest position her song has ever reached in Oricon chart is #2; or to be precise, she has three #2 ranked and three #3 ranked songs.

Singing is her passion since childhood. Behind her petite body and innocent looks, there was a powerful voice. Honda Minako was as one of the idols with best vocal skill. Even after becoming a singer, she never stopped practising and honing her vocal skill. In her later years, her vocal range has reached 3 octaves. Beside an idol singer, she has tried other music genres: enka (Japanese folk music), rock, musical stage play, classical , and even jazz. 

She was a social person. She has a lot of celebrities friends. Among idols, her best friend was Minamino Yoko, fellow top idol who was her highschool classmate, they even used to sit next to each other in classroom. Okada Yukiko was also her highschool classmate.  She was also close with her seniors in singing, the like of Matsumoto Iyo, Hayami Yuu and Iwasaki Hiromi.

Honda Minako died in November 6, 2005 at the age of 38, because of leukemia.

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Minamino Yoko (born: June 23, 1967) , nickname: Nanno, was a big idol in late 1980s. She started her debut as actress in 1984 and debuted as singer in June 23, 1985 (right at her 18th birthday). Nanno has a total of 9 songs that reached #1 spot in Oricon Chart. Beside a successful singer, she is also a very popular actress. In her career, Minamino Yoko has starred in: 125 dramas, and 31 movies (and if that's not enough, she also appeared in 27 stage plays and hosted 5 of her own radio shows). One of her most iconic role was when she played the main protagonist in Sukeban Deka Season 2 (1985). In her idol days, Nanno was also an idol with high commercial value who appeared in TV ads for many big brand companies. She was a well-rounded top idol!

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Nakayama Miho (born: March 1, 1970) , nickname: Miporin, was an extremely popular idol from 1980s, she was the 3rd most popular female idol in 1980s. Since her debut in 1985 until 1994, for almost a decade, all her singles were ranked in top 10 in Oricon Chart. In total, she has 8  Oricon #1 ranked songs. Two of her songs even sold more than 1,000,000 copies each. She was an elite even among top idols. 

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Onyanko Club ( pronounce: O-Nyanko-Club, means: the kitty club) was the first large scale group in idol history. They were formed in 1985 and introduced in their own variety show called "Yuuyake Nyan Nyan". They started with a formation of 11 members, but then they kept adding new members by audition from that tv show. In the end they have a total of 52 members registered under Onyanko Club. As for their age range, the oldest member was born in 1965 and the youngest one was born in 1971. But it doesn't mean all these 52 girls were all there at the same time. When some new members were accepted, some old members might have already 'graduated' ( the term they used when a member quit the group), so they were never all 52 members together. And when they performed on stage, it was usually mostly main members with less than 20 people. Beside the main group, Onyanko Club also have 3 sub-units; small sub-groups with a few girls each.

Onyanko Club have a short but very successful career. They have released 9 main singles with 6 of them reached #1 in Oricon chart.

Onyanko Club officially disbanded after their last concert in September 20, 1987. Some of their ex-members switched to solo idols with successful careers, each of them have several Oricon #1 ranked songs. Some of them became actress, etc. But among all ex members, the most popular one was obviously Kudo Shizuka.

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Kokusho Sayuri (born: December 22, 1966), nickname: Sayu-chan, was a top idol from 1980s. She was one of the founding members of Onyanko Club (they started with 11 original members before kept adding new member through audtion) as member number 8. Although she isn't their real leader, behind the stage she took the "leader" role who guide younger members. 

She released her first solo single in February 1, 1986 while still a member of Onyanko Club. She went full solo after "graduated" from Onyanko Club in March 1987, few months before the group disbandment. In her career, Kokusho Sayuri has a total of 3 songs that reached #1 in Oricon chart. She released her last single in 1988 and then shifted her focus to acting.

As an actress, Kokusho Sayuri appeared in A LOT of dramas. She has starred in a total of 165 dramas and 12 movies.

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Iwai Yukiko (born: May 26, 1968), nickname: Yuuyu, was a top idol in 1980s. She was a cosplay model for a magazine usually photographed in military cosplay costumes before she joined Onyanko Club audition in 1985 and accepted as Onyanko member number 19. Beside being one of the most important members of the main group, she was also assigned an Onyanko sub-group called Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi; a duo with her and Takai Mamiko, and they were successful with high song sales. As the shortest member (*and the shortest among 1980s idols, even shorter than the likes of Kyon2 and Asaka Yui) with baby face, Yuuyu was cute, almost like a mascot of the group, and many fans were fond of her.

She made her solo debut in March 25, 1987, a few months before Onyanko Club disbandment, with this song as her debut song. In her career, she has two Oricon #2 ranked songs, and her total song sales as solo singer (all singles + all albums) are about 513,970 copies. She also starred in some dramas and quite active in reality shows from late 1980s to mid 1990s.

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Watanabe Marina (born: November 18, 1970) was a top idol from 1980s. She participated in Onyanko Club audition in March 1986 and accepted as Onyanko Club member number 36. 

She made her solo debut in October 1986, just less than 7 months since she join the group. Even so, she never "graduate" and stayed with the group until it's disbandment. Her debut song reached #1 in Oricon chart and broke Yamaguchi Momoe's record as the youngest female singer to reach Oricon #1 chart (her record last for 14.5 years until someone else broke it).  In her career, Watanabe Marina has 4 songs that reached #1 in Oricon chart. Her total song sales are about 1,397,029 copies. She has also starred in 55 dramas (mostly from 1987 - 2002) and a lot of TV ads. She has also written 10 books about travel and health.

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Fukunaga Satomi (born: January 26, 1967) was a top idol in 1980s. She was one of the original members of Onyanko Club. There was once a late night variety show called "All Night Fuji" in Fuji TV and she was one of their casts. 11 girls from that show were picked and put into their new project, an idol group called Onyanko Club. Satomi already got a normal job offer at a computer company but she chose to work in entertainment. Onyanko Club were born with 11 original members (before they kept adding new members), with Fukunaga Satomi as member number 11. 

Onyanko leader was kept secret, but years later it was revealed that their first leader was actually Fukunaga Satomi. When they performed, Satomi was usually place at the center. When Onyanko Club shot some dramas, Satomi would usually get the leading role.

She made her solo debut in May 1986 before she "graduated" from Onyanko Club in September of the same year. Satomi has a short solo career. From 1986 - 1987, she has released a total of 4 singles and 3 albums. Her total song sales as solo singer are 441,730. But whatever Onyanko Club have achieved, she also had a big role in it since she was one of their most important members.

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Yoshizawa Akie (born: October 20, 1968) was a popular idol in 1980s. She was the member of the infamous idol group in mid 1980s: Onyanko Club. She was scouted to the group audition around the same time she auditioned for the "Sukeban Deka 2" tv series and got accepted in both. Akie became Onyanko Club member number 25.

Akie got her solo debut in November 1, 1985; she was the second Onyanko member to debut after Kawai Sonoko. Later she "graduated" from Onyanko Club in September 1986 and continued her career as solo singer. In her entire career she has released 8 singles and 5 albums, with two of her songs reached #1 in Oricon chart.  Her total sales are 742,880 copies. She was also an actress who has appeared in 8 dramas and 2 movies. Her most notable role was in "Sukeban Deka 2".

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Idols are identical with cuteness, but Sakai Noriko was simply too cute, she could melt people's heart. Sakai Noriko (born: February 14, 1971), nickname: Nori-P,  was one of the top idols in late 1980s. She made her idol debut in 1986 and released her first song in 1987. She was also one of regular cast member of idol tv program: Momoco Club before focusing on her solo career. Her smile, her body languages, everything of her emitted cuteness. But she didn't only sell cuteness, Noriko also has good vocal skill like a proper singer. Noriko is also a talented actress, one of her most popular drama is: "Hoshi no Kinka" (1995) where she played as a mute character. Her most popular song "Aoi Usagi" was used as OST for that drama, so when she sing that song live, she will use sign language in her coreography, just like her drama character.

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Moritaka Chisato (born: April 11, 1969) was a top idol in late 1980s; a multi-talented artist who's also a song-writer which most of her songs were written by herself, and she can also play drum and other instruments. Moritaka Chisato has one special characteristic when she perform live on stage: to wear flashy - almost cosplay-like - costumes.

Moritaka Chisato was rising newcomer in late 1980s and she actually reached her highest peak in early to mid 1990s, where she became regular performers in Kohaku Uta Gassen.  In her entire career, she has 2 songs that reached #1 in Oricon Chart, but her actual total song sales were much higher. Compared to all 1980s female idols, Chisato has the 6th highest song sales. 

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Suzuki Sachiko (born: February 22, 1969), nickname: Sacchin, member of Wink. 

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Princess Princess (also called Pri Pri) was a very popular all-girl rock band in late 1980s to early 1990s. Their member consisted of: Kishitani Kaori (former stage name: Okui Kaori, born: February 17, 1967, vocal), Nakayama Kanako (born: November 2, 1964, guitar), Watanabe Atsuko (born: October 26, 1964, bass), Konno Tomoko (born: July 15, 1965, keyboard), Tomita Kyoko (born: June 2, 1965,  drum).

Their journey to the top wasn't smooth. They started the band in 1983 under the band name: "Akasaka Komachi". At that time, their management company pushed them into the "idol" route which are not the music genre they really wanted. So, in 1985, they changed to another management. In 1986, Princess Princess was born with pop-rock as their genre.

Princess Princess have a total of 5 songs that reached #1 in Oricon chart.  Their total song sales in their entire career are 11,000,000 copies 

* They are not "idol", they are rock band

* But they were cute rockers, visually as cute as "idols", and it's a compliment

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Nishida Hikaru (born: August 16, `1972) was a top idol in late 1980s to the first half of 1990s. She was born in Japan but grew up in Los Angeles from 1973 to 1985. In 1979, the young Hikaru sang in a chorus with many other children in Stevie Wonder's song that was part of his album released in 1979. At some point, she went back to Japan and appeared in JAS  (* a Japanese airlines) commercial in 1988 and starred in her first musical stage play not long after. Still in the same year, April 6, 1988, she debuted as idol singer (the same debut year as Wink).

As a singer, she has released a total of 25 singles and 12 albums. Her total song sales (all singles + all albums) are about 1,153,550 copies. She has performed 4 times in Kohaku Uta Gassen 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1998.  As an actress, she has starred in 48 dramas (1989 - 2011) and 2 movies (1990, 2001).

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Mi-Ke were a famous idol trio formed in 1991 consisted of: Murakami Haruka (born: December 3, 1969), Utoku Keiko ( born: April 7, 1967), and Watanabe Mami (born September 22, 1969). Before their debut, they were chorus singers / backing vocals for a band called B.B Queens. Their names "Mi-Ke" means three colors, where they usually wore costumes in 3 different colors or styles. Their songs are mostly parodies of 1960s songs, with lyrics that looks like normal song lyrics but are actually formed of multiple vintage song titles being put together into sentences. 

Mi-Ke were formed in 1991 and disbanded in 1993. They have short but successful career where they constantly appeared on TV, won some awards, performed 2 times in Kohaku Uta Gassen, and all of their main singles were used as soundtrack of dramas, tv programs, anime and tv ads. 

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SPEED were an extremely popular girl group from mid to late 1990s with their members: Arakaki Hitoe (born: April 7, 1981) (leader), Uehara Takako (born: January 14, 1983), Imai Eriko (born: September 22, 1983) and Shimabukuro Hiroko (born: April 7, 1984).  They made their debut in 1996 while still in very young ages even for idol standard, with their average age back then was 13.5 years old. They were very young but quickly rose to the top, surpassing most singers older than them. 

How big were SPEED in their prime?

- They have 5 songs that reached #1 in Oricon chart.

- They have 4 singles with 1,000,000+ sales each. Their single with the "lowest" sales (by their standard) still sold 580,000+ copies. And then they have 2 albums with 2,000,000+ sales each, one album with 1,900,000+ sales, and even the one with "lower" sales (by their standard) still sold 880,000+ copies. 

- Their total sales (singles + albums) in their entire career are about 19,646,009; that made them surpassed some of Japan biggest female idols like Pink Lady, Yamaguchi Momoe, Kudo Shizuka, Nakayama Miho, Koizumi Kyoko (Kyon2).... and only lose to Nakamori Akina and Matsuda Seiko. 

- In "Top 50 Japanese Idols of All Time" list from 2011, SPEED were ranked in #5. (* Matsuda Seiko was #2 and Nakamori Akina #3)

- They have performed 4 times in Kohaku Uta Gassen 1997, 1998, 1999, 2008

- Most of those were achieved only in 3 years and 8 months (1996 - 2000). If they have longer career, they might even topple the "queens" from their thrones.

SPEED disbanded in March 2000. By then, all their members already have solo singles and wanted to pursue their solo careers independently. After the disbandment, SPEED have a short reunions in 2001 and 2003, and  reunited permanently in 2008 and wanted to start over again, but unfortunately they can never reached the level of their prime ever again. In 2014 SPEED disbanded once again after their member: Arakaki Hitoe got married and retired from singing. 

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Tachibana Risa (born: October 19, 1971) was a popular idol in late 1980s. She made her debut in both singing and acting in 1987; in fact, her first single was the OST of her first drama. As a singer, the first year of her career was successful that her first four songs were ranked between #2 - #4 in Oricon chart, regularly appeared in "The Best Ten" and won a lot of newcomer awards, most notably: newcomer award in "Japan Record Awards" defeating other potential newcomer idols of that year like: Sakai Noriko, Hatada Rie, BaBe, etc. Risa has released a total of 12 singles and 5 original albums in her entire career with her total song sales are 354,710 copies.

Aside from song sales though, in other aspects Risa was a popular idol in late 1980s. In 1987-1989 alone, she has starred in 11 dramas and 4 movies. She also appeared in quiet a lot of TV commercials. She was also a regular cast in some reality shows.  There was even a video game with Tachibana Risa as the main character. 

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Ogawa Noriko (born: July 20, 1973) was a popular idol in late 1980s. She started as a child actress and has already starred in a drama since 1979 when she was just 6 years old. She later appeared in a lot of dramas and movies in late '80s to the '90s. As an idol singer, she made her debut in 1987. In total she has released 23 singles, 10 albums and 5 mini albums with total sales of 595,481 copies. 

Ogawa Noriko has a decent singing career but she was even bigger as actress. In 1980s alone she had appeared in 29 dramas ( and 40 more in 1990s, and then 15 more in 2000s with her latest drama was from 2009) and 5 movies (and three more in 1995, 1997, 2004). She also did some radio shows in 1980s and took part in 25 stage plays from 1991 - 2004.

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Matsumoto Noriko (born: January 30, 1968) was an idol from mid 1980s. She won the grand prix in a beauty contest held by "Miss Seventeen" magazine in 1984. She made her debut in 1985 both in acting and singing. In her career she has released 13 singles and 3 original albums, with her total song sales are 297,880 copies. In acting, she has appeared in 12 dramas (1987 - 1991) and 3 movies (1985 - 1989). In 1987, she started doing comedy too.

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BaBe was a duo in late 1980s consisted of Kondo Tomoko (born: February 17, 1966) and Nikaido Yukari (born: August 29, 1965). They were vocalist in some amateur bands before but only met in a jazz dance class. In 1984 they formed a duo called "Breakers" in their dance class. In 1985 they were scouted by a management company and appeared as extras in a movie. Then they moved to another agency and BaBe was born in February 21, 1987. With their background, they were known to dance well whey they sang.

The first year of their career was successful. Their first two songs sold more than 100,000 copies each and they won a lot of newcomer awards. In their career, BaBe have released 8 singles and 4 original albums. The highest position their song ever reached in Oricon chart is #4 and their first album even reached #2. Their total song sales are 876,230 copies. 

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Yamase Mami (born: October 2, 1969), real name: Yamase Mamiko,  was an idol from late 1980s later turned into presenter and variety show personality. She already aspired to be an idol since she was very young. In 1983, she applied for "HoriPro Talent Scout Caravan" - a very famous audition at that time that has produced some big idols - but rejected. Her second try in 1985 was a success, she won it and made her debut as idol singer in March 1986.

As a singer, Yamase Mami has released a total of 10 singles, 1 duet single and 5 original albums. Her total song sales are about 174,861 copies. She was known for singing well. Mami also has acting career, which she has appeared in 12 dramas (1987 - 2000, and appeared again in a drama in 2020) and 5 movies (1988 - 1994). 

Her song sales aren't that high, her acting career was decent, but Yamase Mami actually found her success somewhere else. With her unique voice, cheerful and outspoken personality, and an interesting talker, Yamase Mami appeared in more and more variety shows since 1986 as regular and sometimes presenter. She has appeared in a lot of variety shows and is still an active variety show personality even now. 

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Yoshimoto Miyoko (born: March 18, 1969), nickname: Michon,  was a popular idol in mid 1980s. When she was in elementary school, she was a fan of late 1970s idol: Ishino Mako. At third grade of elementary school, she won a singing competition in her district, became quite popular in her hometown, she became aware of entertainment world, and she called that moment as her unofficial "debut". In 1983, she made it into final in another singing contest / audition and got scouted. March 21, 1985, Yoshimoto Miyoko made her official debut as idol singer.

1985 was a tough year to debut, it was the same debut year as many big idols (Nakayama Miho, Nanno, Saito Yuki, Onyanko Club, Asaka Yui, Honda Minako, etc ). Still she had a decent success. The next year in 1986, two of her songs made it into "The Best Ten" music program. She also became regular in some variety shows, most notably: "Young Studio 101". 

As a singer, she has released a total of 19 singles ( five of them reched top 10 in Oricon chart ) and 10 albums. Her total song sales are 857,440 copies. She also has successful acting career, in which she has appeared in 22 dramas as regular cast (1992 - 2016), 85 dramas as guest / single appeareance (1986 - 2023) and 9 movies (1995 - 2020).

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Tomita Yasuko (born: February 27, 1969) was an idol-actress in the 1980s. She made her debut as actress in 1983, being selected as main lead out of 127,000 people auditioned for that movie. November 21, 1983, she debuted as singer with that movie's OST as her debut song. 

As singer she has released a total of 11 singles and 6 original albums. There's no information about her total sales but her songs position in Oricon chart were somewhere between #22 - #50. Tomita Yasuko was much bigger as an actress, in which she has starred in 122 dramas (1985 - 2023)  and 38 movies (1983 - 2022). She also appeared in a lot of variety shows and a lot of commercials.

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Nakamura Yuma (born: February 16, 1970) was a moderately popular idol singer in 1980s. She won an audition sponsored by manga magazine "Weekly Young Jump" in 1986 and made her acting debut in  "Sukeban Deka 3". A few months later, January 1, 1987, Nakamura Yuma debuted as idol singer.

As a singer, she has released a total of 11 singles and 8 original albums. In her later career, she could even write and compose half of the songs in her album. Her total sales are 498,480 copies. As an actress, she has starred in 29 dramas (1986 - 2002) and 5 movies (1987 - 2006).

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Sagara Haruko (born: March 1, 1968) was an actress and idol singer in 1980s. She made her debut as an actress by starring in a drama in 1984, but she became more well known one year later when she played second lead role in "Sukeban Deka 2" tv series in 1985. As an actres, she has appeared in a total of 23 dramas (1984 - 2001) and 16 movies (1986-2002). Sagara Haruko made her singing debut on May 2, 1986. As a singer, she has released 10 singles and 2 original albums. The highest position her song ever reached in Oricon chart is #19. Her highest selling single sold 34,000 copies. There's no information about her total song sales but it's safe to assume that she was bigger as an actress than as singer.

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The Checkers was a seven members rock band and - confirmed by their own words - male idols active from early 1980s to early 1990s. They were extremely popular 1980s male idols (*around the level of Kudo Shizuka and Nakayama Miho, with their total sales slightly higher than those two, but just slightly). 

Their members:

- Fujii Fumiya (born: July 11, 1962), vocalist ; nickname: Fumiya,

- Takeuchi Toru (born: July 21, 1962), guitar, leader; nickname: Toru,

- Takamoku Yoshihiko (born: September 9, 1962), chorus, percussion, known for his trademark mustache; nickname: Moku, 

- Odoi Yuji (born: November 2, 1962), bass, vice leader' nickname: Yuji or Yu-chan, 

- Tsuruku Masaharu (born: March 31, 1964), chrous, keyboard; nickname: Masaharu or Ma-san, 

- Tokunaga Yoshiya (born: June 7, 1964, died: August 17, 2004), drums; nickname: Kurobee, 

- Fujii Naoyuki (born: December 27, 1964), saxophone, guitar, flute, Fujii Fumiya's younger brother; nickname: Naoyuki or Nao-chan, 

Started as amateur band, The Checkers officially debuted in September 21, 1983.  In their entire career, The Checkers have released a total of 31 singles and 10 original albums. ALL their singles reached top 10 of Oricon chart and never declined even once until their disbandment in 1992, with 9 of their singles managed to reach #1 in Oricon chart. Their total sales are 15,380,000 copies. They have performed 9 consecutive times in Kohaku Uta Gassen .

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Kondo Masahiko (born: July 19, 1964), nickname: Matchy, was an extremely popular male idol in the 1980s, arguably top 2 male idol in his era.  In 1979, he starred in a highschool drama together with fellow "Tanokin Trio" members: Tahara Toshihiko (Toshi) and Nomura Yoshio. Following Toshi's big success in his solo debut, Matchy also given a solo debut by his office few months later on December 12, 1980 and his popularity also exploded. His debut song sold more than 1 million copies and since then he established himself as top 2 (or top 3) biggest male idol in 1980s.

In his entire career, Matchy has released a total of 53 singles (1980 - 1987) and 18 original albums. In 2011, "Music Station", a long running music program, released their version of "Top 50 Japanese Idols", Matchy was ranked #18 with total song sales of 12,670,000 copies. From all his singles, 16 of them reached #1 in Oricon chart. He has performed 10 times in Kohaku Uta Gassen (1981-1988, 1996, 2015). As for his acting career, he has starred in 35 dramas (1979 - 2017) and 14 movies (1981-2000). 

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Hikaru Genji were an extremely popular male idol group who took the late 1980s by storm. They were called the last super idol of Showa era.

The members:

- Uchiumi Koji (born: January 11, 1968), leader

- Osawa Mikio (born: April 20, 1969), 

- Morohoshi Kazumi (born: August 12, 1970), 

- Sato Hiroyuki (born: November 2, 1970), 

- Yamamoto Junichi (born: February 28, 1972), 

- Akasaka Akira (born: May 8, 1973), 

- Sato Atsuhiro (born: August 30, 1973), 

Hikaru Genji officially debuted in August 19, 1987. They brought a new and fresh concept: singing on roller skates with acrobatic coreography. Their songs were fantasy themed, like songs about light, star, galaxy, space, etc. Their popularity exploded and they took the late 1980s by storm. 

In their career, Hikaru Genji have released a total of 26 singles and 14 original albums. All their singles reached top 10 in Oricon chart with 10 of them reached #1. At their highest peak, four of their songs managed to occupy four out of ten spots in Oricon yearly chart of 1988 (#1, #2, #3, #7). Their total song sales are 12,220,000 copies. They had performed 6 times in Kohaku Uta Gassen 1988 - 1993.

Hikaru Genji disbanded in 1995.

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Warabe was a popular idol trio in early 1980s born from a variety show, with their members: Takabe Tomoko (born: August 25, 1967), Kurasawa Atsumi (born: April 20, 1967) and Takahashi Mami (born: September 20, 1967). 

There was once a very popular variety show: "Kin-chan no Doko Made Yaru no!" aired from October 6, 1976 to September 24, 1986 with average ratings of 30%. The show was in the format like slice of life drama following the daily life of Hagimoto family. Hagimoto family have three daughters, previously played by dolls and child actors, but in 1982 the three sisters characters had grown up as high school students and they casted the three young actresses: Takabe Tomoko, Kurasawa Atsumi and Takahashi Mami to play them.

The three girls also formed an idol trio called Warabe and debuted on December 21, 1982 (which technically made them also one of the class'82 idols, the star-studded year that produced a lot of big idols with successful careers). They had a very promising start with their debut song exploded with very high sales. 

Unfortunately in June 1983, one of the members: Takabe Tomoko involved in a certain scandal and resigned from that show and the group. The two remaining members continued as Warabe until July 1985, they decided to re-boot the show with the three sister characters played by entirely new casts. Following that, Warabe disbanded.

Warabe had a short but successful career. They have released a total of 4 singles and 2 albums. Their total single sales are 2,031,410 but there's no information about their albums sales, so there's no data of their total sales. 

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Nagayama Yoko (born: January 13, 1968), was a very popular enka singer, but before that she also used to be idol singer from 1984-1990.

She already attended folk song class since 4 years old.  When she was a kid, she also appeared in some comedy programs, especially on the folk song segment. In 1984, she planned to debut as enka singer but then her agency though the then 16 years old Nagayama Yoko was too young to be enka singer, so they made her debut as idol singer instead on April 1, 1984. Then she became regular member in the music program "Let's Go Young" from April 1985 to April 1986.

She released her last single as idol singer in 1990 and then stopped her singing career to focus on acting. In 1993, she re-debuted as enka singer and immediately reached an entirely different level, became a very big enka singer who performed 14 times in Kohaku Uta Gassen (1993-2007).

As idol, she has released a total of 17 singles and 5 original albums. Her total single sales as idol are 600,000 copies but there's no information about her album sales. As enka singer, she has released a total of 55 singles and 44 original albums. Her total single sales as enka singer are 2,340,000 copies but there's no information about her total album sales. She also has acting career which she appeared in 19 dramas (1985-2017) and 1 movie (1988).

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Shonentai was a male idol trio once very popular in mid to late 1980s with their members:

- Nishikiori Kazukiyo (born: May 22, 1965), nickname: Nikki, the leader of the group.

- Uekusa Katsuhide (born: July 24, 1966), nickname: Kacchan.

- Higashiyama Noriyuki (born: September 30, 1966), nickname: Higashi.

The name "Shonentai" was originally just another name for "Johnny's Junior", a group of young trainees belong to "Johnny & Associates" (*the infamous entertainment agency most big male idols signed to back then), there were about 20-30 people at that time. In 1981, four of them were put into a group simply called "B Team" appeared on singing programs as backup dancers for more senior Johnny's idols like Tahara Toshihiko (Toshi), Kondo Masahiko (Matchy), etc. In 1982, one of the members left, and with the three remaining members, the group's name changed into "Johnny's Shonentai". Later the group's name changed again into just "Shonentai" and held their first solo concert in April 1984, still before their official debut. 

Shonentai officially made their debut on December 12, 1985. Kitagawa Johnny once called their group "the best masterpiece" in his agency. Unlike a lot of other idols who barely had any training, Shonentai were properly trained for years in vocal, dancing and any other lessons needed for entertainment. 

In their career, Shonentai have released a total of 26 singles and 6 original albums. Nine of their singles and two of their original albums reached #1 in Oricon chart. They have performed 8 consecutive times in Kohaku Uta Gassen 1986-1993. In 2011, "Music Station" released their version of "Top 50 idols" list, Shonentai were ranked #31 with total sales (all singles + all albums) of 5,480,000 copies.  For their acting career, as a group (not including the members' solo career) they had appeared in 10 dramas (1983-2001) and 4 movies (1982-1987). Shonentai also had their own musical series called "PLAYZONE" that was held every year from 1986-2008.

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Mihara Junko (born: September 13, 1964) was a top idol active mostly in the first half of 1980s. In 1972 on her second grade of elementary school, she joined Fuji Theater Company and started to appeared regularly in their performances. In 1979, she got a regular role in the popular drama: "3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei" and her popularity skyrocketed due to the delinquent role she played. Mihara Junko made her singing debut on September 21, 1980, which made her one of the first generation 1980s idols (*debuted the same year as Matsuda Seiko, Kawai Naoko, Kashiwabara Yoshie, Iwasaki Yoshimi, etc). 

In her career, she has released a total of 20 singles and 15 original albums. There's no information about her total sales (all singles + all albums), but she has 4 singles with 100k+ sales and 1 single with 200k+ sales; her total single sales alone are about 1,047,000 copies, add that with the sales of her 15 albums (*her first album alone has sold 328,000 copies), there's no doubt that Mihara Junko was a top idol when in her prime. And she has performed 1 time in Kohaku Uta Gassen in 1982. 

Mihara Junko also had a successful acting career which she has appeared in 106 dramas (1978-2010, a lot of one shot drama and guest roles) and 18 movies (1980-2010). 

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Watase Maki, nickname: Chanmaki, born: February 22, 1969, was an idol briefly active from 1987-1988. 

She was a fan of Matsuda Seiko (the biggest 1980s idol) since elementary school, even dressed as her, imitating her hairstyle, and singing mimicking her when she was a kid, which inspired her to become singer. In 1986, she won "1986 Young Jump Queen" - a contest held by Young Jump magazine - out of 8,000 applicants and entered the entertainment industry. She made her debuted as idol singer on June 2, 1987 (*debuted the same year as Moritaka Chisato, Sakai Noriko, Tachibana Risa, BaBe, Ishida Hikari, Hatada Rie, etc).

In her idol career, she has released a total of 3 singles and no album. Her total sales as idol singer are 33,580 copies. She barely has acting career, she only appeared once in a movie in 1990. 

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In 1988, Watase Maki who didn't feel being an idol suit her decided to switched to rock and formed a band: LINDBERG, with her as the vocalist. They made their official debut on April 25, 1989. 

Out of all their singles, four of them reached #1 on Oricon chart and four other reached #2. Their highest selling song sold 610k copies. There's no information about their total sales, but their total single sales alone are 5,781,000, and that haven't included their 17 original albums, 7 "Best" albums, a lot of compilation albums, etc. They have even performed once in Kohaku Uta Gassen. 

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